Tennis top guns confirm they will play in CWG
August 21st, 2010 - 2:09 pm ICT by IANS
New Delhi, Aug 21 (IANS) A day after their pullout threat from the Commonwealth Games over non-payment of bills, top Indian tennis players Saturday confirmed their participation in the Oct 3-14 mega event as well as the Davis Cup tie in Chennai next month.
Leander Paes, Mahesh Bhupathi, Somdev Devvarman and Rohan Bopanna in a signed letter to All India Tennis Association (AITA) had said none of them will be available to play in the Commonwealth Games until something is done over their long pending dues. The sports ministry in its clarification had blamed AITA for not submitting the bills, which caused the delay.
The players, however, Saturday in a statement said they will be available in “full strength” for the Davis Cup as well as Commonwealth Games.
AITA secretary general Anil Khanna said all the players will be participating in the Games.
“I am very pleased to hear about the statement of players that they are going to play in the Commonwealth Games. I was always 100 percent sure that our players who have stood selflessly by the nation for two decades will continue to serve the nation,” Khanna said.
“As regards their grievances, these are being addressed. Jaideep Mukherjea, chairman CWG Preparation Programme, and I will meet joint secretary Rahul Bhatnagar on Monday to sort out the pending issues of the players with the Ministry of Sports.”
- Top tennis players say their commitment is only for Davis Cup (Lead) - Aug 21, 2010
- Sports ministry asks AITA for more documents - Aug 23, 2010
- Top tennis stars threaten CWG pullout, government blames AITA - Aug 20, 2010
- Mahesh Bhupathi opts out of Davis Cup tie - Mar 06, 2012
- Aircel to sponsor Indian Davis Cup team - Sep 09, 2011
- Indian tennis stars to play in CWG with full strength - Aug 21, 2010
- Indian tennis stars threaten to pull out of CWG over non-payment of dues - Aug 20, 2010
- Paes-Bhupathi confirm CWG participation - Sep 18, 2010
- India may go back to grass if they play at home - Jun 20, 2011
- Davis Cup: Somdev to lead India's challenge against Japan - Aug 19, 2011
- Somdev to lead Indian challenge in Davis Cup, CWG - Aug 13, 2010
- CWG tennis: Paes, Bhupathi win doubles bronze - Oct 09, 2010
- Somdev top seed, Sania second in CWG tennis singles - Oct 01, 2010
- Paes' Olympic partner hangs fire - Jan 01, 2012
- Paes felicitated for his 21 years in Davis Cup - Sep 19, 2010
Tags: aita, anil, bhatnagar, clarification, commonwealth games, davis cup, davis cup tie, full strength, grievances, indian tennis, leander paes, mahesh bhupathi, New Delhi, pullout, rohan bopanna, secretary general, sports ministry, tennis association, tennis players, top guns